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Boiling the current lockdown regime to "can't shop in stores" is needlessly dismissive and reductionist. The current policy in Australia is that foreign citize

by 0xy 5y ago

Boiling the current lockdown regime to "can't shop in stores" is needlessly dismissive and reductionist. The current policy in Australia is that foreign citizens are forbidden from leaving the country. This violates numerous international agreements on the freedom of movement for citizens, including ones Australia is signatory to. The only other countries preventing exit of foreign citizens are names like North Korea, China and others. I think it's fair to say that a country should be able to control inbound immigration to some extent. But preventing outbound immigration to foreign citizens is despicable. I know dozens of foreign citizens who have been stuck in Australia because they cannot leave without a permit, that isn't guaranteed even for compelling reasons. Numerous valid permits are being denied. That's one element. Then there's blatant police state policies and abuses such as a curfew with absolutely zero health evidence backing, police throwing unarmed people to the ground unprovoked into a pool of their blood and refusing medical attention for them [1], pepper spraying elderly people for peacefully protesting and more. [1] https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/video-emerges-of-cop-throwing-man-headfirst-into-the-ground-in-melbourne/news-story/a9b73be96d8ab5615f186db867de2262 https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/video-emerges-of-c...

ceejayoz 5y ago
> The current policy in Australia is that foreign citizens are forbidden from leaving the country. This violates numerous international agreements on the freedom of movement for citizens, including ones Australia is signatory to. The only other countries preventing exit of foreign citizens are names like North Korea, China and others. Only if you're a permanent resident of Australia. https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia > If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption. > Due to the current COVID-19 situation in Australia, including state and territory border restrictions, business closures and social distancing requirements, international visitors are encouraged to return home when possible to do so.
NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 13 Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Tomis02 5y ago
To summarise what you're saying: "the government did some things wrong while fighting COVID". Sure, I don't disagree. That said, are bad government policies worse than the murder of civilians? I'll let you guess which one is more likely to make me go out and protest. Of course I'll ridicule people who call Australia an authoritarian state over the suboptimal handling of a public health problem. First of all because I know what an authoritarian state actually looks like, and second because having temporary movement restrictions is only a mild inconvenience for most people. Also, your government actually wants you out of your house working and spending money, and they would much rather not have lockdowns at all than lose votes over this. I never thought I'd see the day where I talk about an Australian politician in a non-critical way, but here we are. > foreign citizens are forbidden from leaving the country Only permanent residents are not allowed to leave without a permit, as per the home affairs page. But to address your point, I can absolutely promise you that people did not go on protests for the sake of foreigners that couldn't leave Australia.
- 0xy 5y ago
  >Only permanent residents are not allowed to leave without a permit Must be outdated information, it was changed recently. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/06/australians-who-live-overseas-now-unable-to-leave-country-if-they-return-for-visit https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/06/austr... >The Australian government has quietly expanded its ban on Australian citizens leaving the country to include people who are ordinarily residents in another country, meaning that even people who live overseas may not be allowed to leave Australia. Absolutely despicable, and contrary to UN freedom of movement human rights charters -- of which Australia is a signatory. When your country steps on basic human rights as defined by the UN, you no longer have an excuse to not call what's happening "authoritarian". Sorry, but preventing foreign citizens from leaving by force is authoritarian. That's North Korea tier. No other Western country prevents outbound travel for non-citizens.
  - Tomis02 5y ago
    As far as I know, any foreign citizen can leave. If they are a permanent resident, they can either apply for a permit or drop their visa - it's generally much easier to leave than to come back. Your quote is slightly ambiguous but I assume it refers to Australian citizens who are residents of other countries. The article you linked only talks about Australian citizens as far as I can tell. FWI I upvoted your original comment to compensate for the downvotes.

by 0xy 5y ago

ceejayoz 5y ago

> The current policy in Australia is that foreign citizens are forbidden from leaving the country. This violates numerous international agreements on the freedom of movement for citizens, including ones Australia is signatory to. The only other countries preventing exit of foreign citizens are names like North Korea, China and others. Only if you're a permanent resident of Australia. https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia > If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption. > Due to the current COVID-19 situation in Australia, including state and territory border restrictions, business closures and social distancing requirements, international visitors are encouraged to return home when possible to do so.

NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago

UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 13 Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Tomis02 5y ago

To summarise what you're saying: "the government did some things wrong while fighting COVID". Sure, I don't disagree. That said, are bad government policies worse than the murder of civilians? I'll let you guess which one is more likely to make me go out and protest. Of course I'll ridicule people who call Australia an authoritarian state over the suboptimal handling of a public health problem. First of all because I know what an authoritarian state actually looks like, and second because having temporary movement restrictions is only a mild inconvenience for most people. Also, your government actually wants you out of your house working and spending money, and they would much rather not have lockdowns at all than lose votes over this. I never thought I'd see the day where I talk about an Australian politician in a non-critical way, but here we are. > foreign citizens are forbidden from leaving the country Only permanent residents are not allowed to leave without a permit, as per the home affairs page. But to address your point, I can absolutely promise you that people did not go on protests for the sake of foreigners that couldn't leave Australia.

0xy 5y ago
>Only permanent residents are not allowed to leave without a permit Must be outdated information, it was changed recently. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/06/australians-who-live-overseas-now-unable-to-leave-country-if-they-return-for-visit https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/06/austr... >The Australian government has quietly expanded its ban on Australian citizens leaving the country to include people who are ordinarily residents in another country, meaning that even people who live overseas may not be allowed to leave Australia. Absolutely despicable, and contrary to UN freedom of movement human rights charters -- of which Australia is a signatory. When your country steps on basic human rights as defined by the UN, you no longer have an excuse to not call what's happening "authoritarian". Sorry, but preventing foreign citizens from leaving by force is authoritarian. That's North Korea tier. No other Western country prevents outbound travel for non-citizens.
- Tomis02 5y ago
  As far as I know, any foreign citizen can leave. If they are a permanent resident, they can either apply for a permit or drop their visa - it's generally much easier to leave than to come back. Your quote is slightly ambiguous but I assume it refers to Australian citizens who are residents of other countries. The article you linked only talks about Australian citizens as far as I can tell. FWI I upvoted your original comment to compensate for the downvotes.